Winner Takes All
by Mookie 821
Summary: Yami Bakura finds himself in a tentative partnership with a stranger with whom he has more in common with than he'd expected.


Title: Winner Takes All  
Author: Mookie  
Fandom: Yu Gi Oh!  
Pairings/characters: Yami Bakura/Yami Malik  
Rating: PG-13  
Word Count: 1,771  
Warnings: m/m relationship. TWT. Don't hit me; it's been a while since I've seen either the subbed or dubbed version. Predominant use of English dub names for people and Millennium (Sennen) items, possibly inconsistent spelling between dub anime and translated manga. Also very very sloppily beta'ed.

Notes: Response to fic-on-demand request by Daimeryan Rei.

* * *

The dark spirit of the ring narrowed his eyes as Yugi Mutoh and his friends bid his host farewell.

He had more than a grudge against the pharaoh that inhabited that Millennium Puzzle, and he would be sure to explore it in more detail, now that part of his soul was firmly locked into the item. The power he would get, once all the items were in his possession, was a prize worth waiting for.

Not that he was particularly fond of exercising patience, but he was rather adept at it.

He fingered the Millennium Eye in his pocket, then removed it and leered at it as he recalled the duel he'd had with that pompous idiot. He hadn't known the extent of the item's power, and he hadn't deserved to possess such a treasure.

He slid it back into his pants slowly before allowing his host to resume control of the body.

* * *

There. He could sense it. Another item, approaching. He'd known there was another around here somewhere. Just five more items, and power unlimited would be his.

A motorcyclist was heading his way. The ring was never wrong. He held a Millennium Item as well. Bakura stepped out and halted the rider's progress.

He was much stronger willed than the one who'd held the Eye. Bakura appraised him quickly before demanding he surrender the item he held. Young, well built, obviously foreign with his dark skin.

Instead of a duel, the cyclist seemed almost bored, as if the item's significance were lost on him. However, he offered possession of the other five items. How could he be ignorant of the power he was giving up?

If he were afraid of Bakura, he wouldn't be attempting to bargain with him this way. Only a fool would try to bluff his way out, and there was something in his conviction, in his hatred of Yugi Mutoh, that appealed to Bakura.

Ridding the world of Yugi in exchange for all the items. The blond surely was insane to strike such a bargain.

Bakura's lips curled upward as he agreed to the stranger's proposal.

* * *

Lying in bed listening to Yugi's grandfather prattle on was becoming tedious. He'd thought biding his time would be an easy thing, but he hadn't counted on the old fool taking advantage of Ryou Bakura's injured state to brag about his so-called dueling prowess.

He yawned a few times, and all that got was his pillow fluffed and a brand new story about the time Mutoh and a friend of his had been up all night engaged in a heated battle.

The man had no idea what real battles were like, and Bakura longed to change that, but he was nobody's fool.

It was a shame, however, that he couldn't at least have been stuck with someone reasonably attractive. The girl with the short short skirts, or that ridiculous blond boy who fancied himself a real duelist.

Or, he mused, even his new partner.

Namu, however, was currently paving the way to being accepted by the Yugi's friends.

Bakura had spent thousands of years waiting to get his hands on the items, and he'd endured punishments far worse.

He pulled the pillow over his head and cursed the gods that he had to suffer so.

* * *

Pale slim fingers, in stark contrast to the smooth, dark skin they ghosted over. A low, throaty moan, and warm, moist breath in his ear.

Those same fingers curled around the rigid column of flesh, stroking it slowly as the voice became more insistent.

Bakura's eyes snapped open, and he pulled his hand away from his groin, where it had started to wander during his sleep. He cursed the adolescent body he was stuck with, ignoring the fact that he had, in fact, found "Namu" rather attractive. It was nothing more than a passing fancy. Being celibate for millennia had its drawbacks, but that didn't mean that Bakura planned on forfeiting any chance of making the items his just because his host couldn't control his body's urges.

To make matters worse, the old man was in the room with him again.

On the bright side, it was time for action at last, and Bakura was looking forward to being a participant rather than a spectator.

Besides, he wasn't sure if he could trust the keeper of the Millennium Rod, and he was much more comfortable with this little pact knowing he'd be within physical proximity to both the Puzzle and the Rod.

First, however, he'd need a dueling system and six locator cards. He spied a duelist wearing one of the contraptions on his wrist.

Time was of the essence, Bakura knew, but that was just fine. He didn't plan on wasting more than a minute to get what he needed.

* * *

The finalists were paired, and Bakura could almost taste victory on the tip of his tongue. Yugi was weak, Yugi was sympathetic to his friend's physical state. Bakura planned to exploit that weakness, encouraged by Namu, who was becoming an irritating presence in his mind.

Yugi would not strike as long as Bakura relinquished control of the body to his host, who did not have the endurance that Bakura did.

Yet another weakling.

Ryou and Yugi, the two of them together, poor combatants, in Bakura's opinion.

However...

There was the issue of the other Yugi, who was a ruthless opponent.

He cursed his own sense of mortality, but as the expression went, those who fight and run away lived to fight another day. Besides, he was tired of Namu's questioning his abilities and his judgements. Partners or not, he would not enjoy the power of the items if he had no body with which to use them.

Yugi's friends had thought they'd seen the last of him back on Duelist Kingdom, and they'd been wrong. If Namu thought this was Bakura's last stand, he was sadly mistaken as well.

He absorbed the impact of the final blow before retreating, letting Ryou deal with the annoying well wishers and ignoring Namu's equally irritating chastisements.

* * *

It was less tedious, lying prone in bed aboard Kaiba's flying ship, than it had been in the hospital. At least the view was much more attractive, he allowed, as his eyes swept over Téa's backside. With luck, Ryou's body would recover quickly, because Bakura had some very big plans.

His caretaker seemed more than happy to tell him about the results of all the battles. The part that intrigued him was the story about the shadow game that Namu had engaged in with Mai.

The Millennium Rod. Bakura's ring had been quivering since he'd boarded, but it seemed damn near alive when another item was not only nearby, but in use. He would have loved being there to watch.

No matter, however. His life had been filled with disappointments. The power that awaited him made them all seem insignificant.

Idiots, all of them. They had no idea the extent of power that these items possessed. Namu's grudge against Yugi had to be great indeed, to relinquish them just for revenge. Bakura could almost understand it.

Almost.

What he could understand was the desire to have complete control of this body. Apparently he and Namu had quite a bit in common.

He could feel the excitement in every pore of his borrowed flesh. A shadow game of immense proportions, an opponent who possessed not only the Millennium Rod, but the Winged Dragon of Ra.

With Namu on his side to help with Ra, and his own powerful deck, it was only a matter of time before he held the prize in his hands.

Pity, almost, that the wild-haired young man he faced had to be taken down.

Unbeknownst to him, similar thoughts flitted briefly through Yami Malik's mind before he smiled at them. Fools, the two of them. He had fought for his release, and he had no intention of being banished to the Shadow Realm, no matter how attractive he found the arrogant one. He'd find out the hard way that partnerships were crippling. Depending on another was a liability.

His smile grew wider. Like lambs to a slaughter, they were.

The battle sharpened his hunger - for revenge, for victory, for seeing the pretty one's look of utter shock as Yami Malik transferred his life points to Ra's dragon. It was a thrill that caused other parts of his body to stir, and he threw back his head and laughed.

The substance of his body in the Shadow Realm was indescribable, the heightened senses, the feeling that every cell trembled between the mortal plane and eternal damnation.

Watching his opponent's open-mouthed shock gave him wicked ideas indeed. When was the last time he'd felt so alive, so in control?

The secrets of the pharaoh, the fate of the world - these would all be his.

He was feeling a bit generous at the moment.

Bakura felt the breeze in his hair first, something warmer than the chill winds. He raised an eyebrow, curious as to why this was different from when the other Yugi had banished him here.

Maliciously triumphant eyes materialized before him first, pinning him with a predatory gaze, then lips curved in amusement. His nemesis stood before him, and Bakura smirked back at him. If he were here to gloat, he had another think coming if he expected Bakura to care.

Yami Malik reached out a hand, passing it through the tousled white hair, then leaned forward until their foreheads almost touched. He swiped his tongue across Bakura's, causing that mouth to open in surprise. Malik's tongue thrust inside the welcoming cavern, swiping inside briefly. His hand clenched in the hair behind Bakura's head, and he pressed their bodies closer so they were almost touching.

Any closer could be dangerous here in the Shadow Realm. It was what made the kiss so damn exhilarating.

His fingers released their hold, and he stepped back, removing his lips much more slowly than he'd anticipated.

Bakura's eyes had widened only slightly, and Malik laughed again.

"I could not send you off without a proper farewell," he said. His laughter grew louder as he faded from Bakura's sight.

Bakura touched his lips, wondering if there were hallucinogenic effects to being in the Shadow Realm that he hadn't counted on.

He shrugged off the mystery, and focused on his next destination. The labyrinth that was the Millennium Puzzle.

His rival had won this battle, but no matter.

Bakura had every intention of returning to claim what was his, and he was looking forward to it.

30 August 2004


End file.
